Schmidt To Remain at St. Bonaventure

Apr 01, 2014

St. Bonaventure University today announced that Mark Schmidt will remain head coach of the Bonnies' basketball program.

"We are thrilled that Mark has decided to continue as the head coach of our men's basketball program," said Director of Athletics Steve Watson. "He has done a remarkable job of building the program. We hope Mark will be our coach for a long time, and to that end, we have started discussions about an extension of our commitment to him."

"It is an honor to be the head coach at St. Bonaventure," Schmidt said. "This is a fantastic University with passionate fans in a community my family and I are proud to call home."

In 2007, Schmidt took over a program that went 24-88 over the prior four seasons. This past season, which was his seventh year, the Bonnies finished 18-15 and reached the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the second time in three years. Among the Bonnies' 18 victories were two over nationally-ranked opponents. In 2012, St. Bonaventure won its first Atlantic 10 Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. Schmidt was named the 2012 Sporting News Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York Men's Division I Coach of the Year.

Schmidt's teams have had winning marks in four of the last six years.

Schmidt was instrumental in the development of 2012 A-10 Player of the Year and AP Honorable Mention All-American Andrew Nicholson, who ended his career ranked second in school history in scoring (2,103 points) and fourth in rebounds (887). Nicholson was selected by the Orlando Magic in the First Round of the 2012 NBA Draft with the 19th overall pick.